Monday, July 16, 2007

What Every First Time Home Buyer Should Know

Follow these tips to make your first home-buying experience a positive one.

1. Get pre-approved for a mortgage loan before you start shopping for a home. It’s helpful for you to know what you can afford, it makes a realtor more enthusiastic to help you, and when you find your dream house, it makes your offer more attractive to the owner.

2. Make sure you find a good lender by getting referrals from people who you know have had a good experience recently. If you can’t get a referral, find someone who is willing to listen to your needs and financial situation and determine the loan that is best for you. Ask questions! And it’s always a good idea to get the rate, fee and lock information in writing. A lender who has your best interest in mind will be happy to accommodate you in all of these regards.

3. Hire a reputable Real Estate Agent. When you’re the buyer, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by working with a realtor. The realtor is paid by the seller, so their knowledge and advice costs you nothing.

4. When you find a property get a home inspection. Don’t ever waive your right to this -- it's worth every penny you'll pay for it.

5. When looking at houses, consider your long-term needs as well as your current situation. Will you be starting a family soon or will your children be leaving home soon? These are important things to consider.

6. Don’t just look at how much you love the house. Take into consideration all of the things that will affect its re-sale value as well. In addition to the size and structure, the neighborhood, nearby development plans and zoning issues are all important things to think about.

7. Don’t schedule your movers and the day you must move from your apartment to be on the exact same date as your purchase contract says you’ll close. Even the best laid plans can go sideways, so plan to be flexible and you won’t be disappointed!

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2 comments:

SEO London said...

Very nice and informative post. Step wise explanation help me a lot. Thanks for sharing.

SEO Manchester said...

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